Corn and deadly spirits

Part 1

Sweat gather on her forehead and trickles down her small cheeks. The Nevada sun wasn't kind to her, its raging sun rays abused her fragile skin. She swings her hoe into the soil and fluffs the earth. Muscles scream with fatigue and her throat is in need of something quenching. Young Maka Albarn had only been working for a few hours and a break was far away. She still had earth to fluff and seeds to prepare.

With her mother waiting for another child, only her and her father worked on the cornfield and they still had the their smaller garden to prepare.

Her eyes slowly wander toward the forest about fifty yards away. "Now Maka, you cannot under any circumstances near the forest, okay? There exist creatures who would love to eat little girls like you." Her mother had once said when she started to work on the family's cornfield.

Maka glances toward the forest. The trees rise higher than the apple tree they have in the backyard and the leaves were a metallic grey and blue color. From a distant, Maka thought the forest was made of metal scrap to then be polished. Her heart trips in her small chest and the large shadows casted under the metal leaves compelled her, begged her to come and take a seat.

She swings the hoe in the ground and let it rest in the soil. A little rest couldn't hurt? As long as she stayed at the edge of the forest, nothing could hurt her.

Her short legs carry her small body toward the attractive shadows. Maybe today would be the day she finally finds out if the trees were truly made of metal.

The closer she got, the higher the trees rise and the larger and darker the shadows it casted. The sun's rays shoot fire on her pale and her skin quickly darken with sunburn. Her feet quicken and the moment she enters the shadows, the air cools and her skin gratefully thanks her.

Maka sighs with content and slumps down on the ground. Her fingers run through the moss and leaves around her. They were a grey with a blue hue. The surface of the leaf certainly feels like metal on her skin, very cool and smooth. Her hand runs through the moss and stiffly moves away from her fingers. It's like metal. Enchanted metal. Its surface is certainly metal, but it moves, so the whole plant couldn't be metal.

Her rich pink lips are left ajar as her green eyes peer at the fascinating plants. The plants are nothing like on their farm. Nothing like the carrots she tugs up from the ground or the corn she separates from the trunk.

Would mixing these plants with their vegetables create something knew? Maka thinks curiously. Maybe her mother would be proud over her if she got some for her? Maybe they could create a super-ultra-mega healthy vegetable all the villagers would want? That would solve the fights her parents had and―

Her eyes settle on the flying creature that landed on her hand. She recognizes the structure of the insect. Large beautiful wings, two prideful antennas sprouting from the small head and small legs attached to the stick-like body. It's a butterfly. A butterfly without any patterns or colors. The insect's surface was just as smooth and simple as the surface of the leaves except for the engraved pattern. The butterfly―

Took off.

"Wait!" Her eyes are locked at the flying insect and quickly she gets up on her feet and follows. "Wait Miss Butterfly!" Her dirty feet hit the metal plants and they bend under her weight. It is a weird sensation since the moss prickles her feet. The butterfly deftly avoids every trunk of trees and every metallic branch. Maka's giggles echoed throughout the forest for seconds as she keeps on running.

The butterfly finally lands on the trunk of a tree and she dives for it. "I got you!" Her hands capture the insect and carefully remove it from the tree. "Hey little girl." She whispers to her hands. Her voice echoes in the forest like it was a cave. "Just wait till you meet my mama, she will adore you." Her eyes turn to her right and then left. High trees block out the sun and only the faint glow from the metallic environment acts as light. In the distant she only sees darkness and more trees.

She was lost.

"Mama?" She sobs and her vision starts blurring with tears. "Papa?" Panic courses through her body and her knees grow weaker. "Mama! Papa!" She screams loudly and her voice echoes once, twice, three times before it fades away into nothing. A loud cry rips her throat and her knees give in. Her sobs echoes throughout the forest as tears trickle down her cheeks. Her hands release the butterfly and it quickly flies away. Her hands wipe away the tears and she continues to beg for her parents.

"RAAW!"

Maka inhales loudly and her eyes snaps toward the side. About twenty yards away there is a bear-like creature. Its shape is of a bear, but the bear doesn't have the brown fur she had seen in picture books, instead it was of metal like the plants and trees.

It snorts loudly at her and claws the ground.

A loud scream rips her vocal cords and she quickly jumps on her feet and runs as fast as her short legs allow her. Tears roll down her cheeks as she screams loudly. "MAMA! PAPA!" Metal rips up from the ground under the weight of the bear rushing toward her.

Fear courses through her body and she cries for her parents― for anyone to save her.

A root suddenly shoots up from the ground and chains her left ankle to the ground. Her face hits the pointy ends of the moss and her air leaves her body from the force of the fall. The bear hovers over her with its palm raised in the air with claws ready to dig into her skin.

"Stop!"

A back appears in between her and the bear, hands raise and waves at the metal animal. "Shush! Don't you see it's only a little girl?"

The bear roars loudly in response. Maka cries out loudly in terror. Her small body quivering with fear.

"Leave!" The man hisses toward the bear. "Or I will be the one feasting on your soul!"

The bear grunts. Palms break the metal plants under its weight and it leave.

The back turns around and she sees the face of her savior. An equal strange man with tanned skin and the brightest red eyes she has ever seen. His body was glowing and it seemed to fight of the abnormal darkness in the enchanted forest.

"Hey little girl." The man gently smiles toward her and kneels down in front of her. "What's your name?"

She sniffles and wipes away her tears. "Maka."

"Maka. That's a lovely name." He offers her his hand. "My name is Soul."

Maka carefully grasps his hand, her fragile hand barely covers up the palm of his. His hand is a strange texture. She feels his warm flesh, but it doesn't give her the feeling there is something inside of his hand. Like he is only surface, only a shell with nothing inside. He heaves her up on her feet and dusts off the silver dust from her brown dress. "Now, roots, don't be mean. The threat stands toward you as well." The tight root on her left foot loosens with a shriek and disappears down in the ground. "So Maka, where do you live?"

She clings onto his hand and shows her thumb in her mouth. "With mama and papa."

A deep chuckle shakes his chest, sharp teeth peeks out from his parted lips. "Of course you do, but where?"

The corner of her lips tugs toward the sides and she smiles brightly. "Teeth!" Carelessly she throws her hand in his mouth at the pointy teeth. She winces and immediately retrieves her hand. Her finger pulses with pain and down her index finger runs a crimson drop of blood.

"You got to be careful." His voice is deep and he gently cups her hand. "Look at this." His mouth neared her wounded finger and air leaves his parted lips and hits her bruise. In front of her very eyes, the wound closes up and he wipes away the blood. Her finger was as good as new. "There. All better."

"Thank you mister." She grabs his hand and smiles wide toward him. "Can you help me find mama and papa?"

He nods, white hair caresses his skin. "Of course. Now tell me, where do your mama and papa live?"

"Oh," She jumps on the spot. "On a farm! We got a huuuge cornfield and we got carrots and cabbages and potatoes!"

"Really? Well that is amazing, Maka." He gently swings her hand soothingly. "Then I know where your parents live."

"You do?" She gasps loudly.

"Yeah, your fields are huuuuge." He gently poked her nose. "And your parents should be worried about you. They are probably waiting for you."

Soul and Maka gently walk through the magical forest together. Soul swings her hand and occasionally she got in front of him and he lifts her up and over a large log or something similar. She laughs loudly and finds comfort with the strange man in the strangest of forests.

"And jump!"

She jumps and giggles when he lifts her up and over the log. He brings her close to his chest and holds her with his arm. He jumps down from the log and continues to walk. "How are your feet? Walking around barefoot in this environment could harm you."

Her green eyes peers down on her feet and dingle them carefully. "No. they are okay." Her eyes wander pass her feet and down at Soul's equally naked feet. Instead of being covered with soil like hers, his has some grey and blue dust on them. "You mister. You doesn't wear shoes."

He chuckles and raises her and fixes his grip on her thighs. "How thoughtful of you. My feet are used to this kind of ground like yours are used to grass and soil. They aren't hurting."

In the horizons the darkness starts to lighten and brown fields and a half grown field with corn comes into view. "Home!" Maka exclaims and smiles wide.

"Yeah." Soul gently sets her down on the ground and rests his hands on her shoulders. "Now Maka, you got to be a little more careful in the future. You got to promise me you don't come near this forest again. You could end up seriously hurt."

She blinks in confusion. "What about you mister?"

"I'm going to be alright. This forest is my home and yours is on your farm. We never leave our home, right?"

"Right!" She smiles wide, exposing her child teeth.

"Now go home. It was nice meeting you, Maka." He playfully ruffles her hair before he releases her.

"Goodbye mister." She turns on her heel and starts to run toward the edge of the forest. She exits the shadows of the forest and the sun immediately abuses her skin.

Wait. She forgot to thank him.

"Mister!" She spins on her feet clumsily and looks back into the forest.

He was gone.

…

The next day. Maka finds herself back on the cornfield with her hoe in hands. This time, she doesn't swing it in the ground. Her eyes stay fixated on the forest. She hadn't thanked the man, Soul, for saving her from the iron bear and finding her way home.

Maka needed to see him. Her mother had always encouraged her to thank and apologize to people as often as she could and she wasn't going to leave him without a "thank you".

Again, she swings the hoe into the ground, quickly rips a corn from the plant and she's on her way again toward the enchanted forest. She hugs the corn to her chest as she runs toward the forest. The shadow of the forest swallows her and once again her feet hit the metallic moss and plants.

"Mister!" She yells at the top of her lungs. "Mister Soul!" Remembering what happened yesterday, she didn't want to enter the forest too deep. As long as she can see the cornfield behind her, she knows she will be alright. "Mister Soul!" She screamed again.

A thud and sound of metal bending. "What are you doing here Maka? Didn't I tell you not to leave your home?"

She spins happily around on her feet and sees Soul standing tall in front of her. "Here!" She holds out the corn cloaked with leaves. "It's a thank-you gift!"

He kneels down in front of her and a deep laughter shakes his chest. "Well thank you then." He takes the corn from her hands. "But you didn't need to give me anything."

"Oh," her face falls down toward her feet.

"No, no, Maka, I'm very grateful for you being so kind to give me corn. But you can't stay here Maka." He grabs her hand and his red eyes stares into hers. "Listen Maka, you got to promise me you will never enter this forest again. Okay? You don't belong here. If you enter this forest again, you could end up harmed."

"Okay." She nods and holds her arms toward Soul. "Hug first."

He smiles tiredly and brings her into a ginger hug. She hugs him for one, two, three, four, eight seconds and she keeps her arms around his neck. "Thank you Mister." She whispers into his ear. Twenty-seven seconds later she released him and smiles toward him. "Goodbye mister." She turns around and jumps happily out of the forest.

…

"Liz! Keep an eye on Patty! She's wandering close to the waterfall again!" Maka exclaims as she carries her basket with corn. "And Black*Star you have to hurry up! Mama and papa need all vegetables in the baskets!"

Black*Star groans and rips at his dirty blue hair. "But I'm tired and my hands are sore!"

Maka sighs loudly as she puts the basket on the carriage with a loud thud. "You know that isn't a good excuse. We need to complete the harvest or else― Liz! I told you to keep an eye on Patty!" Maka quickly tugs at her dress and hurries toward the streaming water where Patty hums on a melody as she balances on various rocks close to the waterfall.

"I got an eye on her, sis!" Liz yells back. "She isn't going to fall!"

"You idiot!" Maka runs up toward the two twin sisters. "There only has to be one slippery rock and she will tumble down in the waterfall and die." She runs a hand through her sweaty bangs. "Patty! Come here!"

Her head snap toward Maka and smiles wide toward her. "Sissy!" She jumps toward her on the rocks and runs up to her.

"Patty. Liz." She growls. "I told you two. You were to get water, not from the waterfall but from the stream lower down. Now with mama and papa going to town, the farm will be in my care and that includes you two. You got to promise me you will obey every little order."

"Even eating green peas?"

"Even eating your vegetables. All of them."

Patty groans loudly and rips at her short blond hair. "I don't want green peas!"

"Patty." Maka kneels down in front of her younger sisters. "Listen, you don't need to worry about your green peas at the moment. Mama and papa are working really hard in the cabbage field and Black*Star is about to pass out. We are all in desperate need of water. Be helpful to your siblings and go to the creek and gather some water."

"Okay!" Liz lit up brighter than an oil lamp in the dark. "Don't worry Maka! I will take care of it!" And Liz darts down toward the location of the creek.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Patty is quick to follow her seconds older sister.

"And don't go too close to the waterfall! Don't go anywhere near the rocks!" Maka yells after them and sighs loudly.

The Nevada sun burns her skin and turns her throat into sand. Her limbs are heavy and her back is sore. She could use a break as much as her parents and siblings, but with only two hours more before her parents are forced to leave to the city market, they have to work harder and faster in order to harvest all of the vegetables. There has never been a single time when Albarn's Vegetables hasn't provided a full range of all kinds of vegetables. They can't start now by lowering their assortment.

Even though Maka wants to collapse on the ground and rest, she pulls up her dirty skirt and runs back toward the small town house where her younger brother rests on the stairs.

"Why does it have to be so hot?" Black*Star moans defeated on the stairs. "We have been working all morning and there is still so many fields left to harvest."

"Moaning about your problems won't help. Liz and Patty are down at the creek collecting water for us." Maka allows herself a tiny break. She slops down beside him on the stairs and sighs happily. The weight on her back slowly disappears and allows her beaten muscles rest. "What happened to the happy kid this morning? You proclaimed so highly we would have this job done before noon?"

"I know!" He groans loudly and covers his eyes with his arm. "We won't ever get the job done in time. We can all just go inside of the forest and―"

"Don't you dare finishing that sentence!" She growls loudly at her brother. "We don't ever mention the forest in our family, you got that?"

"Fine!" Black*Star exclaims and raises his hands in defense as if his sister would jump at him. "I'm sorry. It's just… why don't we all just give up? We are never going to get the job done in time."

"Don't be that way." A kind smile spreads on her face. Her hand gently squeezes his shoulder. "If you finish pulling up all the carrots and potatoes in an hour, you can get my dessert."

She hit the nail on the head and Black*Star's eyes bulged out of their socks as a result. "Really?! You aren't joking with me?!"

"Really. You can get my dessert. But you have to take care of the carrots and potatoes." She cued teasingly.

"ALRIGHT!" Black*Star jumped up on his feet quickly. "I'M GOING TO GET THIS DONE IN NO TIME!" And he stormed away toward the carrots where he had ended. Maka giggles as she watches Black*Star pull up carrots like a mad machine.

Her own break was about as over and she got up on her own feet and heads toward the corn field. The shadows of the corn plants provide the smallest amount of shadows, which she is grateful for. She would rather work in the cornfields than at the potato or cabbage ones. Humming slowly, she grabs corn after corn from the plants and put them in an empty basket.

Every member of her family had different assignments on the farm to complete. Her parents took care of the cabbage field. Maka is the first born of their family so she took care of the cornfields. Black*Star, the second born took care about the root vegetables like carrots, potatoes and ginger. Their younger brother Kid was the only one allowed to go to school, which angered Maka and Black*Star greatly. Kid had been sent to the city to take courses in agriculture and improve the garden. He still had two years in school and wouldn't visit the farm.

After Kid her mother had Liz and Patty, they were both hyperactive and giggly. It was a difficult task at containing them and they had a really hard time executing tasks and having the patient to listen. That is why they got the easiest tasks of caring for the small herb garden and the apple trees and gathering water by the creek. They had a tendency of playing around on the ladder which would end up in one of them falling and hurting their knees or elbows. Even though they fell and wounded themselves, they would still repeat it.

And currently her mother was pregnant. Three months in her pregnancy. Her parents had already decided the little one would take care of the berries at the backyard of their home. Usually Maka had to take care of the berries when she was done with the corn and helping her siblings. The news relieved her a lot knowing there would be another task off her shoulders, but she knew well, her parents could get one-hundred kids to help out at the farm, but her job of supervising the children and caring for them would always be hers. When Patty fell from the ladder, it was always her job to address her wounds. When her siblings couldn't fall asleep in the night, they came to her.

She would always have to babysit her siblings and teach them everything. She had always wanted to teach Black*Star how to swim, but with his fear of lakes and creeks, it was out of question. Liz and Patty were young, and she knows she had to teach them to swim soon. With Patty being quite a clumsy child, she knew she could fall into the creek and she would be alright.

Maka sighs heavily when all of the five baskets are full with corn and she takes one basket at a time toward the carriage. "Black*Star!" She yells and earns the blue-headed brother's attention. "Are you done with the carrots?"

A large grin spreads on his dirty face. "Yeah! They are already on the carriage and I'm soon done with the potatoes. Then I will be finished!"

A smile spreads on her face as she loads the baskets on the carriage and glances toward her parents on the cabbage fields. Liz and Patty offer their parents water and they gulp down the water happily. The baskets are almost full and they would be done at any given minute.

Seems like they would make it after all.

After Maka packed the carriage, she hurried to the backyard where all of their berry plants were. She gathered strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. She managed to collect all of the berries in time and stacked them in the carriage.

Their entire family gathered around the carriage as their parents strapped the horses to the carriage.

"Maka." Her father calls. "You know the drill. You are in charge of the farm. Take care of your siblings and the fields. And remember to keep an eye on Patty." His eyes wander to all of the kinds neatly lined up beside the carriage. "And remember―"

"Don't go anywhere near the forest." All of the children said at the same time. "We got it father." Maka pitches in. "You don't have to worry about anything. I will take good care of the garden and my sibling."

"Good." Spirit nods and climbs up at the front of the carriage. "We will be back in three weeks. Take care!" Her mother whips the horses and the cart starts moving. Maka along with her siblings wave toward their parents as they leave the farm.

Patty sighs loudly and collapses on her rear. "Can we go inside? My skin burns and I'm tired."

Maka giggles and carefully picks Patty up from the ground. "Yeah." She ruffles the small girl's hair and grabs Liz's hand. "Let's go inside and rest. I can make lemonade."

The two twin sisters cheer loudly and Black*Star pumps his fist in the air happily. "Lemonade! Yes!"

…

"Hey Maka." Liz murmurs as she sucks lemonade from her straw. "Tell us a story."

Maka raises her eyebrow and peers at her sisters on the couch. "What story do you want to hear?" She takes a sip of her apple lemonade.

"The story about your scar."

"Patty!"

"What?" Patty peers back at Black*Star where he lies beaten on their father's armchair. "You and Kid have heard about it. Why can't we know about it?"

"Because―"

"Black*Star." Maka smiles toward him. "I appreciate the effort, but they are right. They can know about it. It is a great motivation for them to not enter the forest." The two twins grin wide and move aside, making room for Maka. She takes the inviting seat and finishes her glass of lemonade. "It all started on one afternoon." She starts and places her empty glass on the coffee table. "I was working on the cornfields. I was about a year older than you two. The sun was hot and my skin started to burn. I remember I was in grave need of shadows. I didn't listen to our parents and I walked inside of the forest."

The two girls beside her gasp loudly and peer at her with wonder. "What did you see! What did you see!"

"Did you run into a monster?"

"A troll?"

"Or a tooth fairy?"

"Hold on you two." Maka ruffles both of their blond hair. "I will come to that part. The forest as I remember it was very strange. Plants weren't normal and the atmosphere was enchanting and sound travelled throughout the woods."

"Like when you put a bucket on your head?"

"Do you want her to tell the story or not?" Black*Star sneers.

Patty lowers her head and twiddles her fingers.

"It was just like a bucket." Maka informs. "The moss on the ground uncomfortably prickled my feet as I wandered deeper into the forest till the point it was dark and only the plants and trees lit up the forest with a soft glow. The forest was beautiful inside. It was like a wonderland, that is, it is a wonderland to enchant people to enter the forest." She pauses. The two girls peer at her, waiting for her to continue. Black*Star tiredly watches her from the other side of the coffee table. "My memory of what happens next is very hazy. I remember a loud roar and the next thing I know I'm wobbling out of the forest clutching my shoulder. It was bleeding terribly and our parents were panicking. After that I wasn't allowed to leave the farm."

Liz blinks confused at her. "Sooooo, was it a troll?"

"Or was it a monster?" Her twin pitches in.

Maka shrugs her shoulders. "I'm not sure. I remember teeth digging into my flesh and shaking me like a doll, but I never remember the creature."

"So!" Black*Star finishes the lemonade quickly and jumps up on his feet. "Who's hungry?"

The two twin girls cheer loudly and wave their hands happily, already forgotten about the story she just told them.

Maka and her brother's eyes lock and she mouth a "thank you" to him. He smirks toward her and nods.

Black*Star and the girls chopped vegetables as Maka prepared the broth for the soup they were making. Her eyes aren't on the liquid in the bowl, she gazes out the window, pass the fields of theirs and pass the cornfield closes to the forest. The sun had already set and darkness swallowed the farm. The forest in the distance had a soft glow to it, gently pulsing with life.

Her eyes stayed at the forest, the small little part of the forest she remembered where she entered the forest for the first and last time. At that little patch, between two humongous trees, a slightly brighter, a slightly more vivid pulses a light and she swears, she sees two crimson red spots staring right at her, right through her being―

"It smells burned!"

Quickly she blinks and sees the bottom of the broth starts digging to the bottom of the bowl. "Hell's bells!" Instantly she stirs in the pot and when her eyes lift again, the two red dots are gone.

"Maka." Patty stops chopping a carrot and looks at her. "When will Blair be back? I haven't seen her at all today."

Maka kept working on the broth and tried to save it as well as she could. "She will come when she's hungry. You will see, as soon as we start eating she will come running here quicker than lightning."

…

Patty sniffles in front of her. Her small body trembles. "Blair isn't back." She shakes her head slowly as if she couldn't believe it. "She isn't under a bush or in any of the apple trees. She are gone."

Maka sighs and turns around to Patty and abandons her work on the corn plant. "Are you sure? Is she down at the creek?"

She shook her head.

"Have you looked on the porch?"

She nods.

"And she wasn't there?"

She shook her head.

"Hmm," Maka put down her spray bottle down in her basket of various tools for farming. "Do you have any idea where she might have gone?"

"Actually…" Patty fiddles nervously with her fingers. "I found her footprints and…" she gulps," they led right into the forest."

Maka stiffens. "They led in there? Why on earth would Blair walk in there? She has stayed far away from the forest, she's been terrified of it, why in the world would she walk inside of the forest. Are you sure they were her footprints?"

She nods. "Yeah, it is her footprints."

"Show me." Maka quickly discards her gloves in the basket and Patty shows her away from the corn field to the cabbage field. They wander toward the edge of it before Patty stops and points toward the ground.

"These are hers."

She kneels down at the prints of small palms. They are too big to be a mouse's, but too small to be a human's. It certainly is an animal and as much as Maka doesn't want to admit it, Maka knows this is Blair's footprints. Her eyes follow the trail and sure enough, they lead inside of the forest.

"I want you to go and get Black*Star and Liz. On your way, you get my mantle and dagger, got it?"

Patty slowly nods toward Maka and turns on her heel and runs toward their home.

Blair is their cat, a cat Patty was very connected to. When she was younger Patty used to pretend to be a cat and chased the mice away from their vegetables. Blair had become a very important part of Patty's life and as much as she wouldn't want to enter the forest, she knows she at least has to try to find her. She entered the forest once and got back alive, she can do it again. For Patty.

"Are you insane?!" Maka whips around and sees her sibling storming back toward her, Patty carrying her green mantle and her belt with her dagger in the holster. "Are you seriously thinking about entering the forest?! You could die in there!"

"I'm not thinking it." Maka kneels in front of Patty and grabs the belt with the dagger and straps it around her hips. "I'm going to do it." She grabs the mantle and ties it around her neck. "Don't worry, I will stay close to the edge of the forest. If she's in there, she will come to me. I will be careful."

"You are utterly insane! You barely got out of the forest alive before, who knows you're even going to make it out again. The forest has already gotten a taste of you before so they won't let you escape like last time."

Maka straightens her back and smiles toward her brother. "I was a toddler. Don't you think if I was truly in danger, I would've been dead? Something bit me, but somehow I got away. If the thing really wanted me dead, I would've been dead." She giggles and ruffles his hair. "Trust me. I won't let myself be devoured by the forest. Now all of you go back inside. You've all worked hard and you all deserve a day of slacking."

Black*Star's fists clench and unclench. The pattern repeats. "You are utterly insane." He hisses through clenched teeth. "You have completely lost it this time."

"Then I will enter the forest and exit as a hero with Blair."

Black*Star grasps both Liz and Patty's hands. "Fine. If you aren't back in one hour, I will go looking for you. One hour!" He flips around and starts dragging the twins back toward the house.

"Thank you!" Maka yells after him.

Inhaling loudly, she treads toward the forest. The familiar metals trees come closer and as soon as her boot hits the metal moss, it bends under her weight. It moves under her weight and the metal shrieks as it bends. The house on their farm is still visible and Maka decides she has entered far enough into the forest.

"Blair!" Maka calls as she stops. The metal where she stepped straightens as soon as her foot left the spot. "Blair where are you!" She yells. Her voice echoes throughout the forest. She has to hear her. "Come kitty-kitty!" Maka wanders along the edge of the forest as she continues to call for their cat. Only her voice calls back to her, none of the cat.

She sighs and continues to walk through the forest, the hem of the dress and mantle hovers above the plants. "Patty misses you!" Her eyes look back at the cute little house on their farm. "Come kitty-kitty, Patty has prepared fish and milk for you!"

"Have you lost your cat?"

Maka gasps loudly and jumps ten feet in the air. She whirls around and red eyes pierce hers. Eyes just as red as the rubies on aristocrats fingers. "Y-yes." She stumbles on her words as she backpedals away from him. "It's a blue cat with golden eyes. Have you seen her?"

To her surprise, the man nods. "I have. She is deeper in the forest, sitting on a tree."

Deeper in the forest. She was already deep enough. Would walking deeper in the forest cause trouble to her? Most definitely, but she has her dagger with her and if something appear, she can protect herself. She isn't the little girl she was when she was attacked.

Her eyes slit into silvers as she moves the mantle away, exposing the hilt of the dagger. His eyes did acknowledge the presence of it by flicker his gaze down to it and returned it to her face. "Is it safe to trust you? How do I know you aren't leading me into a trap?"

"It's simple, you don't. But if you want your cat, you'll have to trust me."

He had her backed up against a wall. She has to take this chance. "Fine!" She exclaims and throws her hands up in the air. "Lead me to her, but if you are doing anything funny I swear I will―"

"Hurt me? I figured." He shoves his hands in his pockets. "This way." And he starts wandering deeper into the forest. Maka quickly casts an eye back at the red house before she follows the man deeper in the forest. One hour, she reminds herself.

For the first time, Maka notices the bare feet of the man. They're covered with blue metal dust and the hem of his blue pants are ripped and damaged. His shirt, she guesses was supposed to be white, was a dirty beige and metal dust stained his shirt. It was also one size too large on him. His hair was a blazing white, the only part that was actually clean and didn't contain any metal dirt.

As they made it deeper within the forest, the exit of the forest grows completely covered with trees and branches. The sun doesn't reach down to light the forest, only the soft glow from the trees and the man's hair light up the forest―

His hair gives a soft glow. Just like the trees.

Her eyes widen.

He's a part of the forest!

He lured her in!

Instantly she pulls her dagger and points it toward him. "You tricked me!" She exclaims. "You live in this forest! You are a part of it!" Now everything makes sense to her. His bare feet. His dirty clothes and his abnormal features. If he didn't live in the forest, his feet would be hurting and covered with wounds, but yet he moves around without any problem. His clothes are stained with metal dust because he lives in the forest, those kinds of stains you don't attract from a simple walk in the forest.

The man slowly turns around and faces her. "I won't lie. I am one with this forest."

Maka gasps loudly when roots erupt from the earth and attaches to her ankles. Another one shoots up and removes her dagger from her hands. In her panic at catching her dagger, she falls face first to the ground without catching herself. The metal moss uncomfortable prickles her skin. "What do you want with me?"

"What I want?" Maka peers at him from the ground. He fishes up some sort of glass bottle from his pocket. The label on the bottle has her name on it to her astonishment. He empties the glowing blue dust in his hand. "I want to save you."

Before she knows he blows the dust on her and―

Her brain stops functioning. Her muscles don't move and she watches as the man carefully moves closer to her.

Pictures. Pictures flash through her mind. Her as a preteen in all kind of ages. She guesses between the ages of eight to eleven. All of them she was inside of the forest, but she referred to the forest as the Enchanted Forest. The man with red eyes― Soul was always with her. Playing with her. He would push her on a swing of branches. Soul would introduce her to the animals in the forest, all of them he referred to as Wes, even the forest itself. Branches would slap at his back occasionally and he would always bicker with it. Only as a response he would receive a shriek of metal or a gurgle. Somehow, Soul always seemed to understand.

It was a wonderland. When she completed her chores, she would escape inside of the forest, but then―

"I will find you!" Maka yells loudly and giggles. "Where are youuuuuu~"

A loud ear-piercing shriek of metal resonates throughout the forest and hurts her fragile ears. Metal bends rapidly and it quickly grows louder. A moment later a body slams into her. Her shoulder courses with pain and a loud scream rips through her throat as the teeth shakes her furiously. The feeling of slipping, slipping from consciousness overwhelmed her.

A roar echoes through the forest and the weight on top of her disappears. She cries out loudly and whimpers in pain. "Soul!" She calls out and grips her shoulder. "Wes!" Roots tangle with her body and pull her away over the metal moss. "Soul!" She cries out again as she comes to a stop. Her head slowly slump toward the side and she sees Soul's back on top of a different person. Soul's head dives down on the person's chest and a masculine scream fills the forest.

Maka gasps loudly as she watches Soul, her best friend, dig his teeth in the man and spits out blue flesh from the man. She screams at the top of her lungs when he turns around toward her, his mouth and jaw completely covered with blue liquid iron that drips from his mouth.

For the first time, she doesn't see her best friend.

"Shhh," Soul tries to hush her down as he moves closer to her. "It's okay, it's me. I won't harm you."

Tears trickle down her cheeks. Her feet kick at the ground in a poor attempt at moving away from him. Wes's roots only tighten around her ankles and prevents her from escaping. "Get away from me!" She cries out as he kneels in front of her, hurt visible on his face. The person she had gotten to know over years… was a monster. Like the boogeyman underneath her bed she was always so afraid of.

"I will then." He wipes away the strange blood from his mouth and leans down. Carefully he blows on the wound and the blood seeping from her wound reduces, but it doesn't stop. "Control your soul, Maka. And you will be safe." His lips connect with her forehead and― …where is she? Who is he? What is the curious forest surrounding her?

She blinks in confusion as the man spits out blue dust in a bottle. Before she knows it, she stands at the exit of the forest. Her shoulder throbs with pain and she stumbles out of the forest. Tears pour down her cheeks as she whimpers. "MAMA! PAPA!" She cries out loudly.

He erased her memories of him after that day.

She never knew what he was, because human is one thing he isn't.

"What are you?" She whispers.

"I'm Soul." Soul says as he sits down in front of her. "I have many names. Reaper. Vampire. Demon."

"Are you one of them?" Even though Maka's muscles are slack, the roots around her ankles are tight.

Soul shakes his head. "Not really. I think Soul Eater is a better fit. I live of human souls. As long as I eat, I will live."

She stiffens in the roots― in Wes's grasp. "Why didn't you eat mine? If you live of souls, then how come you played with me for so many years?"

"Because you weren't just some piece of soul to me." He laces his fingers together. "Usually I would eat every soul that entered my forest. When you entered, you looked at Wes with such admiration and wonder. It was intriguing. You didn't see the forest as terrifying or haunting. You saw it as something wonderful and amazing. You fascinated me and I decided I didn't want to harm you. I tried to drive you away, well I poorly tried, and you kept returning even though I told you to never return."

"You didn't exactly try to chase me away. You were nice."

He chuckles and scratches his neck. "I know. And every time we met, I was happy. It was fun being around you. With your playful mind and all. I didn't want to put you in any danger, I thought as long as I kept an eye on you, you wouldn't be hurt."

"Why would I be hurt?"

"Because your soul is… special." Soul tilts his head and peers down at her. "Yours isn't as the others. Yours has wings and as much as I don't want to admit it, it makes my mouth water."

Maka's eyes widen.

"But I will never hurt you. And I never did. Wes tried to warn me of the intruder that had smelled your soul. He did bite you and sucked a small part of your soul out. When you screamed at me, I decided erasing your memory of Wes and me was the best for you. Your wavelength did reduce and no wandering Soul Eaters would pick up on you."

"Then why did you give me back my memories now?"

"Because your soul has gone haywire." His fingers dig into his palms and marked them with half-moons. "I could feel your soul as if I stood next to you at the farthest end of the forest, and my forest is larger than you think. Madness has risen in the air and I know somewhere close is another Soul Eater. I don't want you to end up dead because of your soul, in order for you to control your soul, you needed to remember me."

"Soul…" Her hands tremble. "Is it true?"

He nods. "Yes. I've tried to locate the Soul Eater from within the forest, but for me to find him, I would have to leave."

"Why don't you?"

"Because if I do, I would expose myself to the enemy and end up dead. Wes is my partner and we always enter battles together. That's why I won't ever leave the forest."

"Oh…" She gulps. The image of him drenched with blue blood appears in her mind. "Will you hurt me?"

"Never." His fingers dig into the ground. "I don't hurt my best friend."

"MAKA!" Her name echoes throughout the forest.

Metal shrieks and she recognizes it as Wes's voice. "I know Wes! Get the cat." Soul replies and stands up on his feet. The roots around her ankles disappear and Maka gets up on her feet. A branch moves toward Soul with Blair sitting peacefully and unharmed on. "Take the cat and get back before your brother decides to enter." Soul grabs the cat from the branch and hands the animal to her. "I'm not done talking to you. You got to return here. Tonight. Don't bring a lantern. I will help you through the darkness."

"Soul―"

"Go. We will talk tonight." Another branch arrives with her dagger. Soul hands it quickly and encourages her to run. Maka nods and starts running.